Frame Construction - Side Panels (cont.)

Cut out all of the outside lines and angles first using the circular saw. The outside lines are the ones that are greater than 90° such as those all along the top, back and the coin door. All of these can be completely cut with the circular saw plus it will remove as much material as possible to help with cutting the inside lines.

Building Tip

Don’t use the jigsaw to make your cuts. Use the circular saw. I used the jigsaw for my first one and although I stayed on the line, the bottom of the blade wanders and you don’t get square cuts.

The inside angles are the ones that are less than 90° such as those around the monitor area and the bottom of the cabinet below the coin door. Cut the inside lines and angles next.

Note: All of these inside angle cuts will require the jig saw to complete. You should use the circular saw to cut as close as use can but because of the round blade, you will not be able to get all the way into the corners.

Two of the cuts will require you to ‘plunge’ the blade into the wood. These are the trickiest cuts. This means that you won’t be starting from an edge and must press the blade into the wood from the top. If you have not done this before, you should practice on some scrap pieces a few times until you can make precise, accurate cuts. These plunge cuts are done for the monitor face and the bottom panel below the coin door.

Place the front edge of the saw guide against the straight edge holding the blade up over the wood so that when you push the blade into the wood, you are doing it into the middle of your cut line. As you are pushing the blade, make sure you are keeping the saw guide against the straight edge. Once the blade is all the way in, cut backward very slowly until you reach the corner, then go forward slowly until you reach the other corner.

Do this for the rest of the cuts. Once you are done, remove the straight edge and use the jig saw to complete the cuts getting all the way into the corners.

[ ] Use your belt sander or orbital sander to remove any blade marks from all your cutting. All the edges should be reasonably smooth because any substantial bumps will show up when trimming your laminate.

You can now unclamp your side pieces and set them aside. Particleboard isn’t very tough so be careful not to break off the corners of the pieces.

Next: Base Assembly